Mobile Industry Leaders Agree to European Universal Charger

The mobile phone industry recently announced an initiative to implement a universal cell phone charger, answering the calls of mobile users with drawers and cabinets full of obsolete chargers everywhere. This idea became one step closer to reality in Europe today, as industry leaders struck a deal with the European Union (EU) to introduce the charger by Jan. 1, 2010.

Every year 100 million cell phones are made obsolete by upgrades or damage that makes them unusable. In 2007, the recycling rate for cell phones was just 10 percent. Photo: Phillyburbs.com

European leaders had considered implementing a mandatory development of the universal technology by mobile manufacturers, though Monday’s agreement showed industry leaders were already headed to the same conclusion.

The new standard was agreed to by cell phone manufacturers including Apple, LG, Motorola, Nokia, Samsung and Sony Ericsson, as well as chipset makers including Qualcomm and Texas Instruments.

Under the new agreement, all handsets will be compatible with a standardized micro-USB plug for phone chargers, already standard with BlackBerry.

“I am very pleased that industry has found an agreement, which will make life much simpler for consumers,” said European Commission Vice President Gunter Verheugen. “They will be able to charge mobile phones anywhere from the new common charger. This also means considerably less electronic waste, because people will no longer have to throw away chargers when buying new phones.”

In February, the GSMA, the trade association for GSM technology mobile carriers, announced the mobile industry’s plan to adopt the cross-industry universal charging solution (UCS) by 2012, eliminating more than 50,000 tons of duplicate chargers sold each year alongside 1.2 billion cell phones worldwide.

Industry leaders recognize the standardized charger will likely lower costs associated with manufacturing, packaging and shipping, as well as reducing waste associated with old, obsolete chargers.

The standardized chargers will be compatible with European phones only, but will likely become standard in other markets as well. The European Commission of the EU hopes all European data-enabled phones will use the standardized chargers within three to four years.